How To Repair Shrunken Carpet

[Ken Wainwright]

Unless things have changed in recent years, I have rarely met a carpet fitter in the UK who possesses a power stretcher.

Trying to find one may be a lost cause.

 

[Jason Williscroft]

I knew another carpet cleaner who shrunk a BW. He was all set for an insurance claim but knew a fitter that was confident he could get it back. They left it a week for the carpet to relax as much as possible and then the fitter went in. He did manage to restretch it back and the customer was all ok after flowers & chocolates. Don't know how bad it was etc - may have been minimal but i wouldn't write off giving it a restretch based on that but maybe leave the carpet for a week before trying.

 

[Jared Long]

Depends on which direction its shrunk. Warp wise it maybe stretchable. The other way probably not with a kicker

 

[K.O. (Shorty) Glanville]

Ken, I've not used a knee kicker since I got my TriForce.

Pic shows it dis-assembled.

One tube slides inside the other to stretch.

Green piece is a velcro strap that holds the handle & pipe together when not being used.

Even sold my Roberts Power Stretcher.

Having said this, shortly, I think I'll be selling ALL of my carpet repair gear.

I don't need the hassle anymore & I think the body is telling me something.

Cheers all.

 

[Ken Wainwright]

I just don't get some people.

Wojciech started this thread at 6.10pm on Monday.

The last time he was on CleanTalk was 2 hours later.

He just hasn't bothered to chase up advice about something that could cost him hundreds of £££££

His (lack of) actions do not project a very caring, professional image.

 

[Alby Gill]

You can lead a horse to water Ken.

 

[Chris Swanson]

Stinks of "splash n dash"....as per my first post.

 

[Jacob Ward]

@Chris Swanson

More like "splash RIIIIP N DASH "

J

 

[K.O. (Shorty) Glanville]

The old saying goes, (not that you blokes would have heard it), they work among us.

 

[Wojciech Szestowicki]

Thank you for your advice, I'm sorry but simply forgot about this thread,
Its my wife asks this question after the client has sent her a photo of the problem.
I've never had a problem with a shrinking carpet. Here the edge of the carpet was very dirty and dusty, and we probably used too much water here. I cleaned the long corridor, but it was shrunk in only one place under the hot radiator
The house was very warm and the carpet was already dry after 10 minutes.
how do you think that too evaporated water can help in shrinking?
we used mpower with hot water around 35-40 degrees and 150 psi.
The problem will be repaired on Saturday, it is not possible to stretch, so we will use a quadrant beading to cover the hole.

Chris I always take responsibility for my work and I really really like learn alone, Yes I know it is not professional, but very satisfying if you get the knowledge yourself even if it will cost you money.I am sure that training is needed and will be soon.

ps
sorry for spelling mistakes, we're still learning

 

[K.O. (Shorty) Glanville]

Wojciech, for coming back, when a handful of us started in this business 3, 4 & 5 decades ago, there was NO help, we learned from our mistakes & hopefully never made the same one twice.
We virtually had no friends nor peers that we could ask information from & the solutions we used were very basic at best.
Yes, I agree, finding the correct solution to a problem was very satisfying & we retained that knowledge, hopefully.
We were cautious with what we used, how much we used and tended to be very careful when trying something new.
Luckily, clients back then were very forgiving as there was hardly anyone else doing what we were doing.

Times have now changed, drastically.
Now, with the internet, help is at hand 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to help like-minded professionals get the results they want.
The products and equipment are far superior to what we had to make do with.

Training has been a very big part of my business, having attended close on 70 courses since I started back in '71.
These courses have taken me to nearly every state in Australia, as well as New Zealand & several trips to the USA.
As well as attending courses run by trainers from overseas.
As I live 1,200 miles from my state capital, training for me, has always been an expensive affair which always included hours in aeroplanes & terminals, plus transport, hotels, meals, etc;

However, the camaraderie that one finds among like-minded professionals at these courses pays dividends years after you have done the course.
When you have a new challenge on your hands, you can usually get an answer the same day thanks to the internet & the friendships you have made at these courses.

Alas, clients today will not put up with what their Parents &/or Grandparents put up with.
As you say, "Yes I know it is not professional, but very satisfying if you get the knowledge yourself even if it will cost you money."
Do you really know how much that mistake will cost you in real terms, not just on the day?
Unhappy clients not only will not get you back, but with the help of (anti) social media, can blast your name & ruin your reputation & your business.

Please, do get training from professionals as soon as you can, it may save your business as you do not know what challenges tomorrow may bring.

Wish you all the best in the future mate.


Shortwun.

 

[John Bolton]

Wojciech,

You will frequently find that carpets are less well fitted beneath a radiator. This may be for various reasons eg. a carpet fitter worried about damaging the radiator when nailing down a gripper or maybe the heat has over-dried a natural-fibre weft, making the area more prone to swell shrinkage,

 

[Marc Pearce]

A lot of fitters do not put gripper under radiators ,they might not be able to re pipes or not enough clearance or the width of an Axminster etc which wont stretch anyway so lay off that side to save cutting under rad ,or of course they could just be plain lazy that's why its always best to check.

 

[Ken Wainwright]

Here's something that I, and some others, will have overlooked.

Presuming that the gripper is still firmly attached to the floor and carpet, if the carpet has been cut net, the small amount of shrinkage that has occurred over the gully cannot be avoided, so this may be due to poor installation rather than poor cleaning.

Safe and happy cleaning
Ken

 

[John Bolton]

Equally, filtration soiling is frequently worse under a radiator and it's plumbing (if the pipes are sub-floor). Combine this with the fact that some hand tools are harder to properly use under a low-slung radiator, combined with the other issues mentioned and the potential for shrinkage is greatly increased in such areas.